New blood for the 2017 Fujitsu CELSIUS workstations

Slimmed-down and beefed-up workstations from Team-Augsburg

The 2017 generation of mobile and entry level CELSIUS workstations are receiving a refresh. That refresh includes the latest graphics technology and processor solutions on the market along with a healthy dose of engineering work to bring you small, powerful, certified mobile and desktop workstations.

With a single blow, the workstation specialists from Augsburg released their new 15” mobile workstation and three entry-level desktop workstations. Specifically, these are:

CELSIUS J550/2: the only Small Form Factor workstation that can be configured with a full-sized NVIDIA Quadro P2000 and 14 TB of storage in a 10-liter housing.

CELSIUS W570: the newest mini-tower CAD workstation that that is whisper-quiet yet filled with processing muscle.

CELSIUS W570power+: more than a CAD powerhouse, this model is a small, VR-Ready desktop workstation. It can be configured with the latest Intel processor technology and with NVIDIA Quadro P4000 graphics in a compact 21-liter design.

Power in a Small Package

The common thread in 2017 is “compact power”. After the release of the spare-no-expense 17-inch CELSIUS H970 mobile workstation, the 2.8 kg CELSIUS H770 packs nearly every possible feature into a slim 15.6” frame. The CELSIUS W550/2 is the smallest workstation in the Fujitsu line, yet it can still hold an NVIDIA Quadro P2000 graphics card. Finally, the “power+” model of the CELSIUS W570 in a 21-liter form-factor is the smallest VR-Ready workstation ever released by Fujitsu. In fact, it is the smallest VR-Ready workstation among the Tier 1 vendors. Each of these systems follows the pattern of packing as much performance as possible into a very compact space.

As an example, the CELSIUS W570 is 28% smaller than the previous model offering the same or better levels of performance and configuration. The CELSIUS J550/2 is whopping 52% smaller yet still provides slots for full-length graphics cards like the NVIDIA Quadro P2000.

2017: What’s inside?

These workstations use GPU technology from NVIDIA & processors from Intel. Each can be configured with 64 GB of memory. You can also load-up the workstations with plenty of fast SSD storage. While the new workstations share many characteristics, each brings a unique value to customers.

The Mobile Work-horse, CELSIUS H770

The CELSIUS H770 is a well done refresh for last year’s major update in the 15” mobile workstation slot. It sports some of the best physical security measures possible by using Fujitsu’s PalmSecure technology to control access to your mobile workstation. The UHD display lets you take high-resolution tasks like video editing, graphic arts, and complex CAD projects on the road. The NVIDIA Quadro graphics delivers great mobile performance as does the 6th generation of Intel Xeon CPUs. You can knock down more barriers to productivity on the road by installing 64GB of DDR4 2400 MHz ECC memory. Last-but-not-least, 1 TB M.2 SSD PCIe storage options are available so that you can have plenty of fast storage available.

While many of the great features of the CELSIUS H760 have carried over to the new CELSIUS H770, new features and specs abound. The mobile workstation is well equipped for CAD, video, and other graphics-intense applications. The CELSIUS H770 sports mobile GPUs up to an NVIDIA Quadro M2200. The system also delivers a boost on the CPU with a choice of the latest generation of CPUs from Intel. On the memory front, the 64 GB capacity remains the same as last year, however the speed and performance of the memory is now 2400 Mhz. On the storage side, new 512 GB and 1 TB SSD storage solutions are offered.

The notebook also offers 2nd generation USB capability that can connect users to high-resolution displays as well as to a simple, single connector, docking station.

The only potential drawback to this mobile workstation is the lack of a VR-Ready certified configuration. If you need the extra power for VR applications, then you will want to look at the 17” Fujitsu CELSIUS H970.

Small on the outside. Big on the inside: the Celsius J550/2

The 10-liter CELSIUS J550/2 is perhaps the smallest professional workstation on the market which can fit a full-height professional graphics card like the NVIDIA Quadro P2000. When the Quadro P2000 graphics poweris combined with the 6th generation Intel Xeon processor, 64 GB of ECC memory and multiple terabytes of fast, PCIe SSD storage, then your tiny, small form-factor, entry-level workstation no longer feels small nor “entry-level”.

The CELSIUS J550/2 can be configured with up to 5 bays for your storage and optical device requirements. The maximum storage is an impressive 14 TB.

When it comes to add-in boards, the internal configuration has 2 options and one of those allows customers to install legacy PCI boards. Yes, PCI and not PCIe. That is a pleasant surprise for many of our enterprise IT readers to whom legacy controllers are important. If you need a workstation solution that allows you to install your legacy products, then this J550/2 is the machine for you.

Naturally, there are plenty of connectivity options in this workstation as well as functionality for RAID, specialized security, and much more. You can get all the details in the CELSIUS J550/2 data sheet.

The smallest workstation in the Fujitsu stable, this CELSIUS J550/2 has impressive specifications

Up to an Intel Xeon E3-1200 v6 processor with 4 cores and 4.2 GHz

Up to 14 GB of storage

64 GB of memory running at 2,400 MHz

Optional PCI slot for legacy controllers

Support for full-height graphics cards up to the NVIDIA Quadro P2000

The VR-ready mini-tower: The Celsius W570

The W-series went on a diet. Fujitsu reduced the size 28% by going from a 29-liter CELSIUS W550 to a 21-liter model in the CELSIUS W570 line. And while the size went down, the power of this little workstation went up – a lot. Fujitsu created three models of the W570 with the “Power” versions being the smallest ever VR-Ready workstations in their line-up.

The CELSIUS W570 sports a 250W power supply and supports the NVIDIA Quadro P2000. This model is a highly-capable CAD & engineering workstation. The CELSIUS W570power comes with a 400W power supply that allows the workstation to support the NVIDIA Quadro P4000 and makes it great for demanding VR visualization and video editing. The CELSIUS W570power+ unit adds front-access, cold-plug capabilities for HDD and SSD storage.

The Celsius W570 workstation now comes in three flavors

Support for the Quadro P4000 is a key element in this workstation’s VR-Ready certification. Both the Quadro P2000 and the Quadro P4000 provide excellent performance for a wide range of engineering applications. But a VR-Ready workstation must meet special demands. VR applications using modern head-mounted displays must provide two high-fidelity images at high refresh rates.

While the size went down and the graphics performance went up, that is not all. The new model supports the latest generation of Intel processors. The speed of the 64 GB of memory moved up to 2400 MHz. The SSD storage capacity has moved to 1 TB. This makes the total storage capacity in the CELSIUS W570power+ a hefty 28 terabytes.

Our Perspective

2017 is an “incremental” year in workstation technology. Yet, the team at Fujitsu has delivered important advances in performance and features for their entry-level workstations. These systems were efficient and powerful in 2016 yet the Augsburg team released 2017 models that are slimmed-down and beefed-up. If your current workstation is wheezing a bit under current workloads, then you will be happy to have one of these new models in your office.